4． Journey to the Buddha's Kingdom
Faxian's contribution to Chinese Buddhism lies not only in his translation of sutras and laws, which is more familiar to people today than Faxian's translation, but may also be his travel notes about traveling to the West to obtain scriptures " "Buddha Kingdom " ("Faxian Zhuan"). In the ninth year of Yixi (413), Faxian lived in Daochang Temple and wrote "Buddha Kingdom". It was completed the next year and was quickly circulated in Jiankang. However, because it was too short and could not satisfy readers' curiosity about foreign lands, Faxian later wrote it. Xian also made detailed supplements to the manuscript he wrote. This is the book "Buddha Kingdom" that has been passed down to this day under various titles.
In the "Buddha Kingdom", Faxian described in detail how he and his companions traveled west to the quicksand, crossed Congling , and arrived in Tianzhu. His companions either returned on the way, died in Tianzhu, or died in Tianzhu. When he left Tianzhu behind, Faxian dragged his old body alone and returned to China by sea via Shizi Kingdom. From a chronological point of view, "Buddha Kingdom" records Faxian's fifteen-year experience from his departure in Chang'an in the third year of Long'an (399) to his landing in Laoshan in the eighth year of Yixi (412). From a geographical point of view, "Buddha's Kingdom" records important information such as politics, religion, geography, economic conditions, customs and habits of more than 30 countries in Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. "Buddha's Country" is Faxian's record of his long and arduous journey that lasted for fifteen years. It is the first travel diary in ancient China to introduce the conditions of India, Sri Lanka and other countries with personal experience. It is also for those who later went to India to seek Dharma. People played a big guiding role.
At the same time, the book "Buddha Kingdom" is not only a historical book of Buddhism, but also plays the role of inspiring people in later generations to develop Buddhist beliefs. More importantly, it is a true record of the situation in the Western Regions and Tianzhu in the fifth century. It has become the most reliable material for people to study the history of India before the fifth century. This value of "Buddha's Kingdom" has already become a consensus among the historical circles. "Buddha's Kingdom" provides us with first-hand information about the ancient Western Regions, India and China's transportation. At the same time, it is closely related to Xuanzang's "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" and Yijing's "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty". "Nan Hai Yi Gui Nei Fa Zhuan " together, has become the most important clue in archaeological excavations in the Western Regions and India in modern times.
In addition, "Buddha's Country", as an important achievement of ancient Chinese travel literature, has also been loved and praised by literati in the past dynasties for its realistic features and concise and concise style. Harvard University Professor Tian Xiaofei once made a unique analysis of Faxian’s journey to a foreign land. She pointed out that “Faxian implanted the cultural narrative structure of the paradise of gains and losses, which was very familiar to early medieval readers, into a completely new format like travel notes. In the narrative framework ", the so-called " cultural narrative structure of paradise of gains and losses" means that Faxian went through many dangers and difficulties through the devil world and finally reached the paradise of Zhongtianzhu , and then because of seeing a white handle in Jindi Silk Fan had a strong "longing for home" emotion. After embarking on the return journey, he once again entered the dangerous hell and lost his paradise. At the same time, Professor Tian Xiaofei also emphasized that this cultural narrative model is centered on the Buddhist concepts of hell and pure land that were imported into China and gradually influenced the upper class of society. It is also mixed with and integrated with typical plots and images in China’s local cultural tradition. From this perspective, "Buddha Kingdom" is no longer a list of places visited, but a complete narrative with a beginning and an end, including dramatic turning points. It can even "be regarded as the distant origin of the modern novel." .
A person's external behavior is the reflection and revelation of his inner spirit and character. Faxian is well-known in history for his outstanding travels. Such touching actions are also the result of the stimulation and shaping of his inner character. Although due to limited data, we are no longer able to completely restore all the information about Faxian, a great historical figure, but in these few fragments of data, we can still feel the shining personality of Faxian. Professor Li Lian of Northwest University summarized Faxian's inner character into ten points: Unwavering faith, the tragic wish to care about Buddhism, the courage to open up unforeseen paths, the spirit of staying strong, the indomitable will, and being open-minded and eager to learn. Broad-mindedness, the habit of being good at investigating, the complex of cherishing fate and cherishing friends, the style of cherishing time and diligence, and the feeling of nostalgia for the homeland. These spiritual qualities of Fa Xian provide useful inspiration and reference for our emotional edification and spiritual improvement today.
Faxian's unintentional connection with Laoshan after returning to China, from the perspective of his personal beliefs, is that " was blown by the wind of industry", and from a more macro historical perspective, Faxian's Laoshan landing left a legacy for Laoshan culture. It has left an indelible mark on history. As an extremely precious historical and cultural resource, it deserves our pride and memory.
Reprinted from Gong Quanjiu's "Research on Traveling Lao Famous Scholars"
(——Thank you for reading——)
